Attachment for automobiles



fin;

Filed March l, 1924 J M THoMPsAoN ET A1.

ATTACHMENT FoR AUTOMOBILES July 7, 1925.

absorbing devices in diderent Patentedv July 7, 1925. i

UNITao lerares PJATNT OFFICE.

JOHNM. ,-'rHoMrsoN YAND WILLIAM 1 1. THoivrPsrojN, or :BUFFALQNEW Yonai. y f

ATTACHKENT FoR'AUToMoBILEs.

Vapplicati@.ined March i, 1924. semina. 696,330. n

To all whom it may concernf- Y f Y Be it known Athat we, JOHN M. THoMrsoN and WILLIAM H. T'HoMrsoN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and St-ate of New York, have invented a new and useful Improve.- ment in A.Attachments for Automobiles, of which the followingis a specification, Y e l This invention relates toattachments for automobiles, and the objects of this invention are togprovide an .attachment ofr this kind which ispermanently secured to an axle of` anv automobile and which is provided with apart adapted toA act as ajack for raising the car; also'to provide ,an attachmentof this kind with; means enabling the device to act .as a `shock absorber;-also to improve the lconstruction of devices ofthis kind Ain the other respects hereinafter .specified. l f

i In the accompanying drawings Fig.. l is a fragmentary front elevation of one side ofthe front axle ofran automobile having an attachment embodying our .in-

venti'on mounted thereon.'-

Fig. 2 is a .central lsectional elevation 0fthe attachment. i y Fig.v .3 is a fragmentary central sectional elevation thereof' showing parts Y of. the shock those shownV in fFig. 2. f I Y Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section thereoffon line' 1 -4, Fig. L2. Y

Jacks and consequently Vwhen it was desired toelevateone of the wheels it is necessary'toput;

the ack under the axle. adjacent to the wheelto beV elevated.' It frequently happens that the wheel to be elevated isl in a rut'or in the mud so that 'the jack cannot be placed under the axle land also sometimes the partofthe axle to which the jack is to be applied is'in a somewhat inaccessible portion'of'thecar so that considerable difficulty is experienced 5 whenever itv becomes necessary 'to' raise a' wheel itis only necessary toapply 'Y he lifting power tothe jack adjacent that wheel. It

hasv also been found that the housing or casi lng ofthe lifting device or jack can readily Y.

positions fromV for automobiles vhave heretofore been detached from' the automobile itself bey utilized las. a partitofa shocklabsorbing device so `that the` attachment may be used` for the ktwo-fold purpose of elevating .the4

part of the cartol which itis attached, and Y also as Ya-,shock absorber. Y It is-intended tol use ,four of theseattachments on anautomobile, one being ar-v ranged adjacent to e'ach of the four Wheels of the car, 'but it will be understood that; one or more of these devices ,may be used,

as desired. In the dparticular construction.

illustrated, the attachment is shown onone sideI of a front axleJA of a car, and B represents a wheel arranged on the end of the front axle. C represents a frame member forming apart of or securedto the body of the car, and vis supported fromV the. front axle by meansl of a spring C. All ofthese parts may be of any suitable or desired construction and will,; of course, vary. in--construction in `different make-s of cars.

yOur improved' attachment includes a housing D, which in the .construction shown- .is;substantially cylindrical :and is provided with suitable means for rigidlyv attaching the same to an axle-of a car, such as a pair of laterally projecting' arms or brackets d d', .whichv are adapted to be secured to the upper and lowery faces of the axle A for1 holding thetubular member D rigidly on y the axle, the'arms orfextensions being vvided with holes through which bolts d2 promay pass .in such a manner that the -two bolts will'be arranged ,at opposite sides of the axle.: Any otherfsecuring means 'may be employed, if desired. f jv 'Y lThe housing member D forms a support or guide for a lifting device or jack whichl maybe of any 'suitable'or desired construction. `To illustrate 'one embodiment'of our `invention a yscrew jack 1s shown' arranged in the lower end ofthe housing yand. for vthis purpose the housing shown; isv provided, with a lower portion c of 'reduced diameter and an upperl portion e fof slightlylarger diameter., and an inwardly extending flange E is arranged'jsubstantially at the junctureI of these two parts of the tubular housing,V

This inwardly extendinglflange cooperates I witha collar f of a vertical vscrew shaft F,

and a bevel gear g is yarranged on thisshaft which, isadapted to cooperate with a bevelk gear g mounted onftheinner end of a shaft l-I extending into the' housing, preferably atthe enlarged portion of the same and journalled in a bearing lug formed on the housing. rlhe outer end of this shaft is provided with a part ZL adapted to cooperate withasocket member of a wrench or analogous device K, Fig. 1, for turning the shaft I-I in order to effect a turning of the shaft' F through the medium of the bevel gear.

The screw shaft engages Va vertically movable plunger I arranged within the lower portion of the cylindrical housing D, which is closed at its upper end and provided therein with a threaded hole in which the screw shaft F engages. Preferably, the plunger is also provided intermediate of its ends with another part with which the screw shaft engages, for example, a sleeve i secured to the plunger I, and having a central threaded hole in which the screw shaft also engages. It will be evident from the construction described that if the shaft II is turned in one direction, the plunger I, which is preferably provided at its lower end with a foot or base i', will be moved into the lower position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position the wheel B will be raised off the surface of the road or other support, and by Y turning the shaft I-I inthe opposite .direction the plu-nger may be drawnY into the cylindrical housingl D,which forms a guide -for the plunger. A pin 2 secured to the housing D enters aslot or keyway 3 in the plunger I and prevents the same from turning with the screw shaft, and if desired, the

pin and slotv may also be used to limit the extent to which the plunger may move out of the housing, by the engagement of the pin with the Aupper end of the keyway Other means for preventing the plunger from turning in the housing and for limiting the move-V ment of the employed.

The shock absorbing means used in connectionl with this attachment may be'of any suitable or desired kind, that shown includ# plunger in the housing may be ing a compression spring L arranged in the upperportion of the cylindrical housing and engaging at its lower end with an enlarged or disk shaped portion Z of a plunger which has an upwardly extending tubular portion or hollow stem Z.

p normally rests upon a cap or plug a rigidly secured in the upper end of the cylindrical housing D. The opposite sides of the link `M, in the construction shown are rounded and threaded and are adapted to receive` nuts m which bearsupon the upper face of the lever N, a washer m2 being preferably interposed between the nuts and the lever.

The upper end of the hollow stem Z is preferably slotted or bi-l The sides of the slot a engage with the flat sides lof the link M and prevent this link from'turning relatively-tothe lever N. The

lever is adapted to swing in opposite direc-v tions about Vits connection with the link M, as shown in Fig. 3, and upon swinging in either direction from the horizontal position, the lever will draw the link outwardly with i'eference to the housing, so that the spring L will be compressed through the medium of the lower'liange or disk portion Z of the plunger. In order to guide the plunger in its inovement,'the upper end of the screwv shaft or rod'F of the jack or lifting device extends into the hollow stem Z of the plunger of the shock absorber. Y

The swinging arm or lever N may be connected with a part of the bodyfof the autoinoble in any suitable or desired manner. In the particular construction shown, Vthe frame member C of the body has secured thereto a bracket O, which has an outwardly extending flange to which 'a pivotmember P is secured, for example,'by meansv of a bolt p. This pivot member cooperates withV another pivot member Q, having a'socket g into which one end ofthe rocking arm orl the spring, fand compress the spring L, thus Y absorbing shocks to which the-'body of the automobile would be otherwise subjected. The spring g and the slidingl connection between the lever N and the Ipivot member Q, will absorb any'side sway or lateralsmovement of the body relatively to the chassis and thus prevent the side sway Vfrom damagingtheshock absorber, as well as cushioning the side` sway of the body. Y Y l '.7

Both the shock absorbingdevice and the jackrwhich have been described areillustrated merely Vfor the purpose of showing one embodiment of our invention, but it will be understood that it is notintended to limit the claims of this application to any specific formV of shock absorber or'jac'k.

,IVe claim as our invention 1. nAn attachment for automobiles includ-q inga guide part rigidly secured tothe axle of an automobile, and va lpart movably mounted thereon and adapted to be moved downwardly into contact with' a supporting surface for raising the axle of the .automobile relatively to saidsurface, shock ab' soi'bing means arranged in the upper end 'means connecting said shock absorbing means with 'a'partf'of Vthe body of the automobile.` Y 2. An attachment for automobilesincluding a vertically arranged cylinder rigidly.

secured to an: axle -ofan automobile and forming a rigid lhousing for the attachment, a plunger in said cylinder movable downwardlyto raise said axle and guided by said cylinder, and means movably arranged within said cylinder to act as a shock absorber for said automobile.

3. An attachment for automobiles including a vertically arranged cylinder rigidly secured to an axle of an automobile and forming a rigid housing for the attachment, means on the lower part of the cylinder and guided by said cylinder for raising the axle of the automobile from a supporting surface, and shock absorbing means movably arranged within and cooperating with the upper part of said cylinder.

4. An attachment for automobiles including a guide member adapted to be rigidly secured to the axle of an automobile a movable member mounted on said guide member and vertically adjustable thereon, a threaded rod engaging said movable member to move the same vertically and rotatably held against longitudinal movement on said guide member, and means for turning said rod.

5. An attachment for automobiles including a cylinder rigidly secured in a substantially upright` position to the axle of an automobile, a plunger arranged in said cylinder, a screw rod journalled in said cylinder and having a threaded engagement with said plunger, and gears in said cylinder for turning said screw rod for causing said plunger to elevate the portion of the automobile to which said cylinder is attached.

6. An attachment for automobiles including a cylinder rigidly secured in a substantially upright position to Athe axle of an automobile, a plunger arranged in said cylinder, a screw rod ournalled in said cylinder and having a threaded engagement with said plunger, gears in said cylinder for turning said 'screw rod for causing said plunger to elevate the portion of the automobile to which said cylinder is attached, a shaft on which one of said gears is secured and which is journalled in said cylinder, and which has an end extending outwardly from said cylinder in a direction to be readily accessible for turning, to actuate said screw rod.

7. An attachment for automobiles including a housing rigidly secured in a substantially upright position to the axle of an automobile, means arranged in and guided by the lower end or" said housing for elevating the part of the automobile to which said housing is secured, a compression spring in the upper part of said housing and an arm connecting said compression spring vwith the body of an automobile to cause said'sprin'g to absorb shocks. Y w

8;v An attachment for automobiles including a housing rigidly secured ina substantially Vuprightvposition tov the axle of an automobile, Imeans in the lower yend of said housing -fo'r' elevating the part of the automobile to which said housing is secured, a compression spring in the upper part of said housing, a cap closing the upper end of said housing, a link extending through said cap and connected with the lower end of said spring, and an arm having a swinging connection with said link and with the body of the automobile causing thev movements of the body relatively to the axle to compress said spring.

9. An attachment JforA automobiles includ- Y ing a tubular housing rigidly secured in a substantially upright position to the axle of an automobile, means in thelower end of said housing for elevating the part of the automobile to which said housing is secured, a compression spring in the upper part of said housing a cap closing the upper end of said housing, a link extending through said cap and connected withthe lower end of said spring, an arm which rests on said cap and which is engaged by said link and pressed into engagement with said cap, and a pivoted connection between the body'of said automobile and said arm for causing the arm to swing on said cap to raise said link against the action of said spring.

l0. An attachment for automobiles including a housing rigidly secured in a substantially uprightposition to theaxle of an automobile, means in the lower end of said housing for elevating the part of the automobile to which said housing is secured, a compression spring in the upper part of said housing, an arm pivotally connected with the body of the automobile and having a connection with said spring to cause said spring to absorb shocks and means for preventing the transmission to said spring of lateral movement of the body relatively to said housing.

l1. An attachment for automobiles including a housing secured on the axle of the automobile, a screw jack in the lower part of said housing and including an upright screw shaft, a shock absorbing device arranged in the upper part of said housing and including a member movably arranged on kthe upper end of said screw shaft, a spring which normally depresses said member, and an arm connected with the body of the automobile and with said member for moving said member against the action of said spring when said body moves vertically relatively to said housing.

12. An attachment for automobiles including a housing secured on the axle of the lll! automobile, a screw jack in the lower part body of the automobile and havinga connecof said housing and including an upright tion with said member to-oause said spring 10 screw shaft, a shook absorbing device arto absorb shocks, and means for preventing ranged in `the upper part of said housing the transmission to said member of lateral and including a member movably arranged movement of the body relatively to said on the upper end of Said screw Shaft, a housing. l

spring which normally depresses said mem- JOHN M. THOMPSON.

bei", anA arm pivotally connected VWith the WILLIAM H. THUMPSON.- 

